Auld Acquaintances
Synopsis Two witches fight over an amulet for centuries. Cast *Sally Gracie as Mary Hobbs *Linda Thorson as Elizabeth Eaton *Paul Sparer as Narrator Plot Act I Mary Hobbs is having a quiet time cleaning up her lonely Massachusetts museum when her acquaintance Elizabeth Eaton walks in. The much younger Elizabeth brags about her year of success in the stock market and a climb to becoming “Bay State Woman of the Year”. On the other end, Mary has had a terrible year -- her house was struck by lightning, the repairs to her house bankrupted her, and her husband was mysteriously poisoned. It is revealed they are both witches and their strings of good/bad luck are brought on by a magical talisman. They take turns possessing the talisman every year, and Mary is obviously anxious to begin her year with it. Elizabeth warns Mary they are two weeks early, as “Venus and Mars have not aligned yet” to complete the transfer. An impatient Mary uses her powers in an attempt to rip the talisman from Elizabeth’s neck and choke her to death, proclaiming she should’ve done this a long time ago. Act II Centuries ago, Mary is sitting in jail (which is also her present-day museum) when her former neighbor Elizabeth is imprisoned. It is the peak of the Salem Witch Trials, and Elizabeth has been accused of attempting to suffocate Mary Warren in her sleep as well as “sowing the seed” with Giles Corey. Elizabeth swears her innocence, but Mary reveals she has spied on her under the disguise of a toad and knows Elizabeth has a “black heart”. A cynical Elizabeth asks the old witch why she hasn’t used her powers to escape; Mary reveals that her powers are limited when separated from her talisman. Tensions grow after Elizabeth realizes that Mary is the witch who was tormenting Mary Warren. They argue over past neighbor drama (Mary had previously killed Elizabeth’s cows in retaliation for her vines getting cut down) and eventually begin to slap each other. At one point Mary rips open Elizabeth‘s blouse — revealing that she had been wearing Mary’s talisman the whole time. Shocked, Mary quickly uses her powers to chain Elizabeth to the wall. She interrogates the young liar and learns she wants to learn more about its powers so she can stay young and successful forever. Mary unchains her from the wall and holds her face down in a bucket of water. She lets go once she believes Elizabeth to be dead. Act III Some time later, Elizabeth rises from the dead. A baffled Mary realizes the talisman has already given her powers. Elizabeth describes her out-of-body experience, revealing she had traveled with coven members Sarah Proctor and Abigail Williams in the afterlife. She had also met a gap-toothed demon who offered her unlimited powers if she made love to him. While he gave her the talisman as a gift, she refused his offer but still miraculously returned to the living world with her new gift. An angry Mary tries to grab her talisman back, but it severely burns her hands. She is horrified at the thought of losing her powers. Elizabeth is delighted, but reveals she doesn‘t know how to use it to its full potential. She makes a pact with Mary to teach her how to make her life better with it; if she does, the two can take turns possessing it for one full year at a time. Mary is reluctant, but agrees. She cuts her own wrist then Elizabeth’s; they chant “''Utter destruction or the head of she who dares to bring this back''” with their wrists locked together. This officially creates the bond between the two. In the present day, Mary lets Elizabeth go. Elizabeth reluctantly gives her mentor the talisman to start her year. Mary makes it abundantly clear how much she loathes the deceitful young witch as she puts on the necklace. Suddenly, lightning strikes and the lights go out; when they come back on, a delighted Elizabeth sees that Mary has been turned into a black cat. The smart witch echoes her warning about being two weeks early and deduces this happened because Mary broke the pact. Now realizing she has complete control of the talisman, Elizabeth leaves satisfied with her talisman and the cat in her hands. Category:1987 Category:Season 3 Category:Episodes Category:Directed by Richard Friedman Category:Written by Edithe Swensen